I've used a Lansky and it does an alright job. I am now using a GATCO knife sharpner and it's a bigger unit than a Lansky and in my opinion does a much better job. Check out the Gatco 3 or 4 stone kit for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
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there are many of these types of sharpening systems on the market. all of them do a decent job, some may be faster than others, but what it all boils down to is your personal preference and your budget. I've used an OLD unit for about 20 years now, it was made "pre-Lansky", probably in the late 70's. the stones are a little worn, but it still sharpens my knife good enough to shave the hair off my arm. If you use your knife for normal use and don't gouge stones or cut nails with it, it won't take that long to dress the edge up when you need to.
I have several sharpening stones, regular to diamond and a lanskey kit. I wore the regular stones in the kit out and have replaced them with diamond ones. The regular kit is a good place to start if you know how to use regular stones. Without that knowledge of angles and judging wear as you sharpen then you'll ruin a good knife faster with a lanskey. it is very easy to hone off to much on one side if you don't follow the directions or get distracted. I have bought the extra fine grades of lanskey stones all the way up to 2000 grit. Then i finish with a leather strop using extra fine polishing compound on one side. When finished it is sharper than a razor. I'm picky about my knifes edge. If you get one don't try and start at the low angle setting, dulls quicker. I can get almost as sharp an edge at the 25(?) deg setting that will last a lot longer on normal knife steel.
I have always been happy with Chef's Choice model 120. I think I would try one of their manual sharpeners if my budget did not work for the 120 or 320.
Lansky Knife Sharpener
